Essay on The Prosecution and Tragic Death of Aaron Swartz

In light of the recent prosecution and tragic death of Aaron Swartz, it is my belief an formal examination of the current legal processes is required. But first, the events leading to the current moral turmoil must be reviewed. After illegally downloading millions of articles from a digital library (JSTOR) with the intent to distribute them online, computer programmer and political activist Aaron Swartz was caught and arrested by MIT authorities. Under the â€Å"Computer Fraud and Abuse Act† Aaron Swartz was federally charged with numerous counts of Wire Fraud, Computer Fraud, and Unlawfully Obtaining Information from a Protected Computer, Recklessly Damaging a Protected Computer† (â€Å"United states of,†2011).hese charges carried the potential of†¦show more content†¦However in Aarron Swartz case where the amount of files were retrieved he did not receive a similar punishment because of his methods used. Now with the rise in computer crime it is difficult to measure the impact inflicted. However in the case of Aaron Swartz his crime has been described as trying to put someone in jail for allegedly checking too many books out of the library† (Declan, 2013). However beca use of the current copyright laws in the â€Å"Computer Fraud and Abuse Act† he was prosecuted differently. It is my opinion that in light of the significant threats posed by anonymous we need to examine whether an abuse of justice was committed. I contacted a Professor Jonathan Simon at University of California, Berkeley who specializes in Law and Social Policy to provide a third party perspective on this matter. In his famed novel â€Å"Governing Through Crime† Professor Simon examines the relationship between the fear of crime and the increase in Prosecutorial Authority. Historically speaking, prosecutors possessed limited power but were intended to represent the public. However, following social and political declaration of a war on crime, prosecutors were shifted into the political spotlight with additional legal powers. During this progression a form of accountability and oversight was not implemented proportionally. Simon specifically describes this concern